The present disclosure relates to a battery, for example for a rechargeable battery which is constructed from lithium-ion battery cells or nickel-metal hydride battery cells, as used, for example, in electric and hybrid motor vehicles. The present disclosure therefore also relates to a motor vehicle.
Batteries are becoming increasingly widely used owing to an improved storage capacity, the ability to recharge them more frequently and higher energy densities. Batteries with a low energy storage capacity are used, for example, for small portable electronic devices such as mobile telephones, laptops, camcorders and the like, whereas batteries with a high capacity are used as energy sources for driving motors of hybrid or electric vehicles etc. or as stationary batteries.
Batteries can be formed, for example, from individual battery modules or by connecting battery modules in series, wherein the battery modules are sometimes also connected in parallel and the battery modules, for their part, can be composed of battery cells which are connected in series and/or in parallel.
Batteries can be permanently damaged by deep discharge, for example as a result of a load not being switched off, or by an overvoltage, for example by connecting said battery to a third-party electrical system with a different (higher) voltage.
For starter applications or for supplying power in motor vehicles, mobile homes, boats etc., batteries are often directly connected to the on-board electrical system and are protected against overcurrents only by a fuse.
In order to disconnect the battery from a load system, for example a traction system of a motor vehicle, on one side or on both sides, batteries can be provided with one or two disconnection apparatuses, for example contactors. In a motor vehicle system, the contactors can be open for as long as the motor vehicle is not in use and then closed only when it is established that the motor vehicle is ready to drive or the battery is to be charged.
DE 10 2008 022 469 describes a protection apparatus for a secondary battery. The secondary battery comprises an excessive-discharging detector circuit which identifies excessive discharging of the secondary battery and indicates this to a discharging control circuit which then blocks a discharging current. The secondary battery also comprises an excessive-charging detector circuit which identifies excessive charging of the secondary battery and indicates this to a charging control circuit which then blocks a charging current.
European patent EP 1 533 882 claims a set of batteries having a protection process device which, on the basis of at least one output voltage value, determines a state of the secondary battery from excessive-charging states, normal operating states and excessive-discharging states and, after a specific state, controls operations of interruption means for selectively disconnecting a discharging current or a charging current.